Omar Payne (right) and the rest of the Gators get a house call Tuesday from Mississippi State, a team that test the Gators' struggles to rebound the last couple games.
UF Looks to Rebound (Literally) vs Mississippi State
Tuesday, January 28, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The current generation of college basketball players grew up in the LeBron James era. Their high-school and club-team careers were on the back end of Kobe Bryant's reign of the NBA, which officially ended April 13, 2016 when Bryant, in his 20th season, scored an astounding 60 points in his final game. Bryant was 37 at the time.
Kobe BryantKeyontae Johnson was a 16-year-old in Norfolk, Va., when Bryant walked away from the game, and just 10 when Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers to a second straight NBA championship in 2010. It was Bryant's fifth title, all of which came before James got his first in 2012. When Johnson, the sophomore forward, and his Florida basketball teammates huddled before practice Sunday, every player, youngest to oldest, felt the numbing impact when told of the news that Bryant, 41, had died two hours earlier in a helicopter crash in California.
"At first I didn't believe it," Johnson said Monday.
"It was a shock, honestly," sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard said. "I still can't believe it happened."
Their reactions were shared by millions worldwide, many of whom didn't have to be basketball fans to understand the magnitude of Bryant's star power as both a sports and pop culture icon.
UF coach Mike White, just a year older than Bryant, lived the Kobe era.
"Tons of memories," White said Monday. "I was always a fan of his approach to the game and his competitive spirit, What a winner. Enjoyed watching him win championships for a long time and compete at a high level. I think we were all anxious to see what was around the corner for him next. Just tragic. It was a tough day [Sunday] for a lot of people, obviously."
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
But life goes on and, with it, the games go on. The emotional tributes around the NBA Sunday spilled over into college arenas Monday and likely will continue through the week and hit a crescendo during NBA All-Star weekend next month. In the interim, maybe the best homage players can pay to Bryant's memory would be a commitment to No. 8/No. 24's legendary work ethic, competitive spirit and relentless will to win.
Any and all those attributes would serve the Gators (12-7, 4-2) well Tuesday night, as they look to break a two-game losing skid against Mississippi State (12-7, 3-3) in a return to Southeastern Conference play at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.
Reserve freshman guard Tre Mann (1) and his UF teammates had their hands full trying to match No. 1 Baylor on the board Saturday and may have an equally different time Tuesday against Mississippi State.
It was just three days ago that UF was out-worked and worked over, but good, by No. 1 Baylor, maybe the toughest, most physical and best defensive team in the country. Now come the Bulldogs, winners of three straight in league play, and armed with a band of athletic freaks, led by 6-foot-10, 250-pound sophomore and future first-round NBA pick Reggie Perry. Statistically, they rebound the ball better as a team than even Baylor.
After dropping two straight (starting with last Tuesday's too-little, too-late loss at LSU), there's been some head-hanging around a program that only a week ago was feeling pretty good in coming off its best all-around performance of the season, a 69-47 smashing of then-No. 4 Auburn.
If the Gators don't pick their chins up, the backboard-banging Bulldogs will make them pay all over the floor, but especially on the glass.
"We can do a better job for sure," Nembhard said. "We just have to focus on every time a shot goes up, all five guys got to be together, rebound the ball. It's going to be huge in this game for sure."
UF was beaten on the glass, 37-26, by Baylor. The game before, that tough two-point road defeat at LSU, the Gators were out-rebounded, 38-28, including 15-8 on the offensive end. Rebounding requires technique and physicality, but it also demands equal amounts desire.
Maybe even a little more of the latter.
"They're going to get some [rebounds], but you just have to keep playing and don't give up on the possession," Johnson said. "We all know that teams get offensive rebounds, but we have to play through it and don't give up."
It's an approach that will serve the Gators with 12 games remaining in the regular season. And one that would be fitting, given circumstances.
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